Nearly a decade after his fiery sermons outside Finsbury Park mosque were
silenced by his arrest and conviction for inciting murder, the Egyptian
cleric known as Abu Hamza is preparing for what may be his final public
speaking engagement, in a federal court in Manhattan.

Procedures to select a jury for his trial started yesterday and Mr Hamza has
indicated that he plans to take the witness stand to defend himself against
charges that he conspired, over the telephone, with hostage takers in Yemen
and that he sought to establish a terrorist training camp in rural Oregon.